News

Bursaries blow

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned independent schools that getting together to offer bursaries to children from poor families would breach competition laws.

The advice was given to the Independent Schools Council (ISC) at a meeting that formed part of the OFT’s two-year investigation into alleged fee-fixing by independent schools.

The OFT is not expected to rule on its fees inquiry, sparked by a Sunday Times investigation in 2003, until later this year.

Independent schools had been discussing a joint policy to replace purely academic scholarships with means-tested bursaries.

The OFT has told them this may break rules designed to stop them colluding on prices.

Jonathan Shephard, general secretary of the ISC, said: “If children are bright, but from a poor background, they should have access to up to 100% fee reduction. However, the OFT would not allow us to do that in a concerted way because they